The CSA is pleased to announce $50,000 of funding for a three year ultrasound program, effective January 1^st, 2006, which includes guidelines for a member rebate opportunity.

End product (beef) value ultimately drives the beef industry.  Research has shown that ultrasound has a strong relationship with end product value of finished cattle, and provides an early opportunity to obtain valuable insight on the carcass characteristics of potential seedstock.

The new program has a number of features including: development of a new website that will facilitate ultrasound technicians’ schedules to assist members with plans/opportunities for scanning sessions, a series of articles on the importance of ultrasound in CSA literature that have appeared over the last several months and will continue, plus CSA members who ultrasound their animals according to the industry guidelines established by the Ultrasound Guidelines Council (UGC) will have the opportunity to collect a rebate credit in their member account.

Under the rebate program, remuneration will be paid on each animal record received by the CSA that effectively ranks and indexes on the ultrasound reports provided through the CSA office.  This requires that calves be reported on the CSA performance program and scanned in valid contemporary groups.

Breeders will be eligible for payments of $10 for both heifers and bulls.  This exciting development is based on the fact that heifer records not only provide valuable progeny information on current dams, but also on the future Simmental cowherd positioning the breed to serves its customers and the industry well into the future.

 How to Scan

1. Contact a technician and schedule a scanning session (technicians are busy so book early)
2. Contact the CSA and obtain a barn sheet
3. Scan the cattle
4. Submit completed barn sheet and images to an approved laboratory (most technicians have a lab that they work with and will direct you to)
5. Reports are returned through the CSA and will contain age adjusted scan information as well as ranks/indexes on the calves

 UGC Technicians: